China extends power curbs as drought, heatwave linger

A man stands in shallow water near the dry bed of the Yangtze River in Chongqing Municipality Friday. Pic/AP

China's scorched southwestern regions extended curbs on power consumption on Monday as they deal with dwindling hydropower output and surging household electricity demand during a long drought and heatwave.

State weather forecasters issued a heat "red alert" for the 11th consecutive day on Monday, as extreme weather continues to play havoc with power supplies and damage crops. They also raised the national drought alert to "orange" - the second-highest level.

The drought has already "severely affected" mid-season rice and summer corn in some southern regions, the ministry of agriculture said on Sunday. The National Meteorological Center said as many as 62 weather stations, from Sichuan in the southwest to Fujian on the southeastern coast, had record temperatures on Sunday. The situation could improve starting Wednesday as a cold front moves into China via Xinjiang.

The region of Chongqing, which hit temperatures of 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) late last week, announced that opening hours at more than 500 malls and other commercial venues would be shortened starting Monday to ease power demand. Two malls on the list confirmed that they had received the government notice and would abide by the new opening hours. Two hotels on the list said they were still operating normally but restricting air conditioner use.

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